An Odd Coincidence
by UnsightlyDreams
Summary: Being reincarnated into the Death Note Universe was the first shock. The second was finding out that she had shared a womb with none other than Amane Misa.
1. Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes for the first time, I couldn't see anything. Everything was blurred. It felt like one of those slow-mo action movies, where the hero is running forward and yet, barely moving an inch. White surrounded me - white sheets, white walls, white windows. _Everything_ was fucking white.

Understandably, I _screamed_. But what came out was the furthest thing from a proper screech, really. Instead, I choked on something stuck in my mouth, and ended up hacking wildly in an attempt to dislodge it. Soft, pale skin swam into view as someone picked me up _as if I was a fucking baby_ and calmly patted my back, all the while murmuring vague words.

I promptly panicked. Tears sprung into my eyes, and I lifted my hands to defend myself –

–only to see small, tiny fingers and a half-formed fist.

"Sayuri…" A motherly voice sighed into my ear before lifting me up to pat my back soothingly. Some more words followed I couldn't understand. The hands went to my head as the owner fucking _cuddled_ against me.

Then the (blissful?) silence was shattered by someone else screaming.

The woman tutted, placing me back onto the soft mattress. On my part, I could only gape at the ceiling, my vision blurred. Something vaguely yellow swam into view and I squirmed uncomfortably against the sheets. I couldn't feel half of my limbs.

Something was very, very wrong.

The yellow-something came closer, supported by the same hands I had seen before. I briefly latched onto the gleaming garnet ring on one finger, before I realized that the woman was holding _another_ baby.

The baby's eyes opened. Ice-blue eyes blinked adorably at me. And then the woman smiled, lifting me up too.

She cooed a few more words. Only one stood out.

_Misa_.

**{X}**

I was born Amane Sayuri in a fancy hospital in a town whose name I wouldn't learn till later.

_Much_ later.

I shared a womb with _Amane Misa_.

I had an older sister who glared at us disapprovingly from behind harsh black spectacles when we were brought into the house for the first time.

I shared _a womb_ with Amane Misa.

My new mother was an airheaded woman who enjoyed unnecessary giggling.

_I shared_ a womb with Amane Misa.

My father was the perfect match for her – an odd little man with a head full of black hair and a grating laugh.

_I shared a womb with Amane Misa._

I was in a world that wasn't supposed to exist.

And oh god, I was going to _die_!

**{X}**

A/N: Muse is on a roll. For all the _wrong_ fandoms and pairings.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you muchly to all those people who reviewed. You're basically the reason that inspired me to write this anyway. :)

Some more feedback regarding this would be nice. (Just saying) I mean, this is sort of an experiment for me.

* * *

I was the baby nightmares were made of.

Everything felt so _off _to me that in the beginning, that I couldn't help but shriek in rage. My reedy, baby lungs were on a constant workout, and it gave me some sort of grim pleasure to see my new mother scuttle around like her ass was on fire. It also didn't help that every time I woke up, Misa soon followed, her high-pitched whining added to mine.

I'd never know _how _Honoka managed us, but she was always there, always smiling. It would strike me later, that when she left us alone in the crib, she'd go off to silently cry in her room, body driven to exhaustion. Once she'd leave, I would hiccup softly, and turn to the newcomer in charge of us. It was almost always our older sister, Misaki.

There was something _off _about Misaki too. She wasn't… normal, I suppose. Her beady black eyes would take us in - our porcelain skin, our innocent baby-blues, and almost automatically, a sneer would curl her nose slightly. She stared at Misa more than she looked at me - a fact that wasn't lost on me at all.

Also, Misaki was _old_. I'd estimated her age to be around 15 when Misa and I were born. It didn't even occur to me she was our sister until Sousuke (our father) had introduced her to us, making cooing baby noises.

Sousuke was another odd character in the household. If Honoka coped with life by smiling, then Sousuke laughed. He was _always _laughing. And I'd tried everything - from pooping on him to throwing up to screeching in his ear for an hour straight. Nothing fazed him. He'd still chuckle, tickle my sides and call me his little 'Sayu-darling'.

Which brings me to…

My name.

_Amane Sayuri._

Ridiculously simple, utterly feminine, and... . probably short enough for Light to pen it down in… say… under a minute?

Oh, it didn't take me long to figure out which sort of fucked up _world _I was in at all. Both, Misa's name and face were a dead giveaway. One could perhaps argue that the last I'd seen her, she was in anime-form, but it was ridiculously easy to match her current features to that… gothic monstrosity that had skipped past my laptop screen.

But she was an adorable baby. Even as a child, she craved companionship. I'd lost count of the times I would end up huffing furiously in my crib because she'd simply never _let go_. As babies, we were both cursed with poor motor coordination, but even then, Misa never failed to curl to the right and snuggle into me. It didn't matter how fucking hot it was. I suppose, as a child, her brain was unable to recognize the symptoms of sweating through your cute pink onesies, but I did, and it was _annoying_.

It didn't help that once Honoka and Sousuke actually got around to buying me a new crib; she'd shriek the house down as soon as we were separated. Seriously, I didn't know where this bond was coming from, but I _did not _like it. I had theorized earlier on that if Misa had an elder sister in canon as well, then she had probably escaped relatively unscathed. I wanted that life. I wanted to be _away _from her - away from that psycho-bitch who'd kill people for a man that didn't even love her.

But Misa and her clinginess weren't the least of my problems. For one, breast-feeding. Oh, how I _abhorred _the very process! It just felt so _wrong _to be suckling at another woman's boobs and I had almost thrown up my milk the first time. Luckily, it didn't take long for Honoka to figure out I preferred bottles, because otherwise, I swear I would've thrown a tantrum so big, the world would be feeling it for yearsafterwards.

Another one was _boredom_. There was _nothing _to do apart from fidgeting and blinking and sleeping. And waking up in your own poop. This was, arguably, the worst.

Oh, and teething. I didn't even want to _think _about teething.

Understandably enough, I couldn't wait to grow up. It felt like every second was stretching on until it would simply snap like… well, like Light, I suppose.

I couldn't help but giggle at the image. Accept it or not, watching him egotistically announce that he would be God of the New World was fucking _hilarious_. He was so serious about it too. My smile faltered as a very _unwelcome _memory came filtering through my brain. I firmly slammed the proverbial lid on it.

To be fair, I still didn't know what exactly was going on. Why was I a baby? Why was my sister an insane bitch? Was I even in the Death Note or was this a big, fat coincidence that was playing out in my head?

But the truth was… I had this… niggling _feeling..._ \- something that kept me on a constantly on the edge, causing my fingers to drum nervously all the time.

It wouldn't go until finally, one day, Dad would drop onto the sofa, holding both me and Misa in his hands. I looked around curiously even as I nibbled furiously on the big Hello Kitty soft toy - finally glad to be out of that stupid pink crib. The flashing lights in front of my face drew my attention to the small TV smack in the center of the room. Even as I watched, unblinkingly, the scene shifted to an abandoned warehouse and a dead body.

The reporter cleared his throat. "And the famous detective, _Coil_, has solved yet another case -"

It was then that my world would finally go cold around the edges.

When I woke up later, hooked onto IV drips and on the same fucking white sheets I had entered this Universe, I'd realize I had actually _fainted_.

* * *

Misa wasn't my stepping stone for long.

Oh, I tried - how desperately I tried - but she was annoyingly ditzy. She'd somehow climb to her feet and then almost immediately topple over, giggling harmlessly all the way through. At first, it was cute. Then slightly overbearing. Then after nine months, I glanced at her latest _attempt_, a completely unimpressed look on my face before staggering upright and forcing my knees to lock.

And _voila_!

I had taken my first steps.

Ironically enough, I wasn't even allowed to have that freedom for long. Honoka swept me into her arms, shrieking her husband's name excitably while I looked on, bored. Seconds later, Sousuke himself came bouncing into the drawing room before lifting me straight out of her hands and throwing me into the air.

The _fearfearfear _of dying _again _made me shriek loudly before I realized I was already safely secure in his arms once more It still didn't stop me from glowering at him, although I'm sure with my current face, it came off more as a '_I'm-trying-so-hard-to-poop-right-now_!'.

"My darling Sayuri-chan!" Sousuke nuzzled my tummy, his shaggy hair making me shriek loudly and squirm in his hold because goddamn, I was ticklish - "What do you want from Daddy? Hmm? Name your price, sweetheart. I'll get you whatever you like!"

Honoka giggled next to him, but I had long since tuned out of the conversation.

Because Misa was _standing_, blue eyes arched upwards, one hand fisted in _Daddy's_ pants. Her other hand went into the air, almost as if asking Sousuke to pick her up too.

And he did, laughing loudly at his little twins while Honoka clapped in glee at the fact that both her babies had started walking on the same day. But I wasn't focusing on that.

Instead, I was watching how Misa's arms were _still outstretched _-

\- Towards _me_.

And that's pretty much when I realized something very, very important:

She was _never _going to leave me alone.

* * *

"Sayu - _li_?"

"_Sayuri_," I corrected firmly, refusing to be swayed by her pretty pout. "Repeat, Misa-chan. Sayuri."

"Sayuli?" She echoed, tilting her head to one side with wide eyes. "Sayuli… _cha_?"

I bobbed my head around impatiently. This was taking too long! Mum and Dad might be back to check on us soon, and I needed Misa to say her first word so I could follow. The calculating look in Misaki's eyes once she had seen me stumbling around the house on two feet had _terrified _me. It wasn't that she would do anything, or that she would question someone. It was the ever-burning question of _what-if-they-knew_.

What if she could look into my eyes and see the 21 (now 23) years old woman behind my cold blue orbs? What if she could sense that some otherworldly entity inhabited this body? In theory, I knew it was impossible, and yet...

It wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

Ergo, trying to teach Misa. The problem was, Misa had already said her first word. Ironically enough, it was _my _name. Sure, she had mangled it to pieces, but it was still my name. And now, she refused to say anything in front of someone else.

Seriously, I didn't know where this worldly awareness was coming from, but it was _super-freaky. _Death Note's Misa had been an idiotic, bitchy blonde - but this Misa… this Misa sometimes looked at me with recognition in her eyes. She followed my movements. She did what I did.

This could be useful. Perhaps, later on, I could use this ability to manipulate her into staying away from Light. But I knew as well as anyone that people _changed_. She could follow me now, and just as easily follow Kira later.

"Sayuri!" I tried again, crossing my arms. I tried glaring at her too, but by now, Misa was already absently tracing the leaves on our bed sheet. "Misa-chan, say Sayuri!"

Her head shifted upwards to look at me, and a vaguely thoughtful look passed over her face. Then she cupped her hands around her chubby cheeks and _smiled_.

It was an innocent cherub's smile. And then:

"_Sayuli_!"

Ah, fuck it.

* * *

"Da…" I gurgled all over Sousuke's white shirt, completely unrepentant of the fact that the stain probably wouldn't go. _"Da…_"

From across the table, Misa threw her cup furiously against the wall. For the first time ever, sister had chosen to take an action on her own and I was insanely _amused_. It was no secret in the household that I disliked the stupid, gooey baby food Honoka found healthy for us. I'd make that clear _pretty fast_.

But to see Misa following my lead, even if it was a few months later was hilarious.

Honoka tutted exasperatedly, running to swipe the goop before it spread. Meanwhile, Misa had crossed her arms and was now glaring at the back of her head. Dad rushed towards her. "Misa, princess, your food -,"

She stubbornly shook her head, blonde curls framing her face. "No," she said clearly, ignoring the look of shock on Sousuke's face. "No, Misa _no!"_

"Honoka…" Dad began weakly. "Misa just spoke her first word!"

Or sentence, I added in my head.

Mum rushed to the table, fallen bowl forgotten on the floor as she wiped her hands on the apron furiously. "What?! She did?! What did she say? Mum or Dad?"

"Neither," Sousuke shook his head. His shoulders stiffened, and for a second, I actually thought he'd start crying, until he threw his head back and _laughed_. "My princess's first word was _no!"_

From the other end of the room, I saw Misaki's eyes narrowing at my sister, and I grinned, comfortably settling further into my seat.

_Crisis averted._

* * *

"Sayuri!" I coaxed, reaching out with one hand to pull Misa's pigtails. Honestly, I don't know why I couldn't let the mispronunciation go, but I just _couldn't_. Possibly just a mild after-effect from my OCD in my previous life, but I was determined to not be the same person here. Nuh-uh. No crazy could even exist in Amane Sayuri's life.

At least not until her sister found the Death Note.

This, again, was an event I hoped would be diverted. I wasn't very hopeful about it though. Gelus would kill, Rem would meet Misa. It was pretty much set in stone.

I flipped over, onto my back and considered thoughtfully, absently rubbing my forehead. Perhaps this Misa would love me enough to keep me away from the crazy in her life? Frankly, I didn't mind if Light went around killing criminals and became an overall psycho. I couldn't care less. I had no reason to be a criminal, and hence, I was safe.

Unless Misa tried to off me for some reason.

Suddenly suspicious of the prolonged silence, I shifted to the right. As I watched with lidded eyes, my sister stumbled towards me, holding out both hands for balance. I didn't know why, but I ended up stretching my own arms towards her. Misa's chubby little fingers entangled in mine and she fell straight onto me, giggling all the way through.

Now on her butt, she carefully poked my forehead, smoothing the crease in the middle. Then she smiled, an absolutely fucking angelic smile, and said:

"_Sayuri!"_

* * *

We were finally allowed to go to the preschool when we were four. On my part, I wasn't very excited because hey, more kids! Yay! But Misa was absolutely ecstatic. She simply wouldn't stop jumping around like a little maniac, running circles around me and generally being a nuisance. Every time I managed to lay my hands on her, I pulled her pigtails pretty hard, but she definitely considered the interchange to be a game, because she'd shriek and run even faster, forcing me to give up sooner than not.

It was the same in the car. Sousuke had been pretty sly about the whole thing, reading us stories from a picture book and generally amping up our enthusiasm (or Misa's, at least) by showing us pictures of swings and toys and sandboxes and more children.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take Misa long to _demand _for a trip. I say demand because… Well, we both were brats in our own way. We threw tantrums when either of us didn't get what we wanted; a tactic I had realized was effective pretty soon. When Misa wanted more time with Mr. Chubby, I wanted more time with Mr. Chubby. So when I wanted to stay up for a little longer, Misa wanted to stay up for longer. Little things like that. We were a good team.

"Now, Misa, Sayuri, behave yourself, okay? And listen to whatever your teacher tells you." Honoka said, a worried frown on her face. She turned towards her husband. "Do you think it's safe to leave them like this? I still think we should go with them. What if one of them gets hurt?"

Sousuke responded by flinging a lazy arm around her and winking at us. "They're _big _girls now, 'Noka," And Misa and I giggled slightly in unison, because the way Sousuke implied 'big' was always a little funny. "Besides, they're the teacher's responsibility now, yes? Don't be so worried. The teacher will be here soon anyway."

As if on cue, an older man came rushing towards the big group of people, waving a clipboard around. "Thank you, parents. Now, say goodbye children!" He sounded harried and tired, but his eyes still shone with enthusiasm. Clearly, he liked his job.

Some kids cried, but Misa and I were mostly busy with hugging our parents tightly. Honoka sniffed a bit, but quieted once Sousuke sent a warning look towards her. He wanted us to go happily - I'm pretty sure he thought that if she started crying, we would too.

Yeah, I almost snorted at the thought, crossing my arms together as we waited in line outside the classroom. Like that was going to happen. Next to me, Misa adjusted her tiny backpack, blue eyes wide as she looked right and left. She was most interested in the other kids though. I could see her eyeing them periodically.

When we were finally let inside, and seated, the same man came bouncing in. "Hello, my cute little students!" He all but cooed, and my nose wrinkled slightly. I _hated _baby-talk. "I'm Haneda Takeshi, but you may call me Takeshi-sensei! Is that fine?"

Some students muttered in agreement, but mostly the class was silent. So he cleared his throat loudly. "When I ask you something, I _expect _an answer, kids~."

As everyone chorused in agreement, I propped my face on my knuckles and sighed deeply. _This is going to _so _boring._

And it was.

When he was finally done with having us introduce ourselves (some students absolutely refused to, by the way, so he spent around half an hour _each _coaching them through it), the bell rang, signaling the break. I tuned him out as he explained we'd soon start having to serve lunch. Misa, on the other hand, was listening to everything with childish enthusiasm.

Soon enough, she was dragging me to the playground. "Come on, _onee-chan_! Stop being _lazy_!" She huffed as she pulled me out of my seat. "Misa wants to meet other children!"

I acquiesced, grumbling all the way through. I'd tried, earlier on, to tell Misa I wasn't particularly interested, but she'd just steamrolled past me with childish logic. Apparently, if she was going to socialize, then so was I.

She dragged us outside, finally coming to a stop in front of three other girls in pigtails. Then her smile impossibly widened. "Hello! I'm Amane Misa!" She all but chirped, before pushing me forward. "And this is my twin sister, Amane Sayuri! Pleased to meet you!"

As the girls _ooh-ed _and _ah-ed _over the concept of twins (what? really? you were born on the same day? so _coooooooool_!), I found myself absently picking grass and cursing my existence. If this was what kindergarten was like, then I shuddered to think of primary school.

And _ugh_. High school. Puberty. _College_, all over again.

Clearly, some God above hated me.


	3. Chapter 3

There were a lot of things I disliked about the schooling in Japan. For one, the emphasis on sports. I'd never been athletic in my previous life, and I definitely didn't plan on being active here either. Running after a ball or just running in _general _had _never _appealed to me. It was just as likely I was simply being a lazy slob. Laziness was in my bones.

Misa, on the other hand, breezed through the extra-curricular activities. Like the adorable child she was, she'd huff and puff furiously, but never give up. While it was inspiring, it was also pretty annoying, because it meant I was only other blonde left standing in the field, an easy target for Takeshi-sensei, who ambled towards me immediately, frowning.

"Sayuri-chan -,"

"Yes, yes, sensei," I bit out, gritting my teeth. "I won't stop again."

Immediately, his frown became sterner. "It is considered _rude _to interrupt your elders, Sayuri."

Oh, honestly! This whole formality business was so _not amusing_. I was too lazy to adhere to half the standards, but Takeshi seriously seemed very interested in _lecturing _them into me.

Faced with my disgruntled silence, he continued.

"Also, please try smiling a bit more. Your classmates are _scared _of you, Sayuri-chan."

As they should be, I almost growled. Aside from Misa, I found all children _annoying_. They were whiny, stupid, and more often than not, bullies. Luckily, none of them had tried to bully me or Misa yet, otherwise…

Well. I could be a _vicious _child.

As I took off, panting through the fields, I considered the disconcerting idea of this '_all-smiles_' business. Sadly enough, we were stuck in the year 1990, so that meant ideas of the ideal Yamato Nadeshiko still persisted in this world. Well, they did in mine too, but I… Well, technically speaking, a Perfect Japanese Woman had a core of inner steel or something flowery like that. But I generally disliked the idea of her not going against her family members and being supportive, always. I'd come from a time when women were more often than not, independent, and made their own decisions.

If I remembered correctly, feminism was well on its way to becoming a cult movement, but it wasn't as widespread yet. Blame the lack of internet, I suppose.

"Nee-chan!" Misa called out, running up to catch me. She was decked in the same shorts as me, her usually pale cheeks rosy-red from exertion. "What was Sensei saying to you?"

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to call me that, y'know," I said, ignoring her question. "I'm only ten minutes older than you."

"Ah, Nee-chan, but Misa still finds it difficult to say _Sa-yu-ri_!" She said carefully, taking care to not trip over the 'r'. It was actually pretty cute. Hell, _everything _about Misa was cute, from her small pigtails to her cutesy smile. I'm sure, in comparison, I looked like a freak.

"If you must know," I muttered, glancing at the huge clock that signified only two more minutes of this torture, "He was angsting about my laziness again."

"What does _an-si-ng _mean?"

"It means he was being an asshole."

Misa cried out in horror at the swear-word, rapidly pinching my arm to make me promise I wouldn't say it again. As I promised half-heartedly (crossing my fingers behind my back, obviously), I realized there was this certain… _warmth _in my heart. Nobody had ever cared to correct my speech patterns before.

Along with it came a stunning realization.

I was getting fucking _attached_.

**{X}**

Did I consider Honoka and Sousuke to be my true parents?

It was something I ended up giving a ridiculous amount of thought to.

For one, it was true that the two _did _love us - tremendously so, in fact. It was Honoka's favorite pastime to just have us sleep with her, separate rooms be damned. By the age of four, she had my likes and dislikes down to the pat. Often, I'd end up coming home after yet another annoying day at preschool to see my favorite dishes winking down at me. She birthed me, clothed me, kept me fed, and even tolerated my pointless tantrums.

So yes, I loved Honoka.

Was she my true parent?

Probably not.

It was the same with Sousuke. Despite the fact that our very presence made his face light up like the Fourth of July, I couldn't help but compare him to my previous father. It was nothing personal…

Instead, it was more so because I _shared _the two with Misa.

It was never just Sayuri - it was Misa _and _Sayuri. At first, I'd resented being a twin greatly. It wasn't even just because she was Amane Misa, known murderer and puppy killer. It was because she shared my face, and some of my mannerisms, and that she too, was _odd_. Different. Hidden behind that innocent face was a living, breathing person.

And whether I liked it or not, Misa was _my _fucking sister.

Sometimes, I would look at us in the mirror, look at our pretty pigtails and our matching blue eyes and think: We make a strange pair.

Because I could never quite manage to conceal the cold intelligence behind my eyes.

I tried to hide it - of course I did. But the truth was, some part of me didn't _want _to hide.

The urge was something I couldn't even explain to myself. In my previous life, I had been a typical person - if a bit smarter than the rest. I chose science. I studied. I was _normal_.

Was it really so wrong to crave the feeling of being different? Of being someone special?

I traced my reflection in the mirror contemplatively, aware of my hypocrisy.

Because I was _already _different. And I didn't share Misa with Honoka and Sousuke - she shared _me _with them. This face, this body, these eyes weren't mine. All that belonged to me was my awareness. The feeling of being someone else. The memories of a different life, and a different face.

But if everyone thought that I was the only weird one, then they clearly missed Misa. It was fascinating, watching a child grow and learn in such close quarters. But it was even more fascinating to see _Amane Misa _\- for she was a child of contradictions, constantly picking up newer things, trying out different ways of living.

In these close quarters, I saw Misa gain, and then lose a lisp faster than one could say 'normal', all because one of her giggling friends had made fun of it. She was always bright, cheery, sunnier than anyone could ever be. Misa was an odd child too, and just for that, I think she never recognized the oddness in me. To her, I was her Sun - she orbited around me. Distance between us made her upset, and every attempt of Takeshi sensei's to separate us was rebuffed with pouty lips and tears.

Sometimes, I would wake up gasping in the night, drowning in the memories of another person, and she would be there. Always there.

And this.

This, beyond anything else, be it Kira or L or the upcoming years, scared me the most.

**{Z}**

"How about this one?" Misa asked, flipping pages rapidly in the brochure. "It looks very pretty! Misa likes the Sakura trees in the playground."

"Yeah," I murmured distractedly, not even bothering to look up from my book, "It's nice."

"Nee-chan!" My sister all but squealed, hitting me with the folded brochure. "You aren't even listening to me!"

"I am, I am," I tried, rolling to the side to escape the blows. My magenta pink frock flew up from the movement and Misa hastily abandoned her sadistic venture to pull it down. Sadly enough, Honoka _loved _buying pink things for us. Our wardrobes were filled with pink underwear, pink tops, pink shorts, pink everything. Sometimes, I wondered if Misa had started wearing all that black as a form of rebellion. It certainly made an insane amount of sense now.

"Nyeh, _Sayuli_! Don't you care about the school we'll go to?" Misa asked, lifting my book out of my hands to fix me with a stern glare. The effect was spoiled by the way she'd mangled my name, but hey! At least she'd tried.

"Not particularly," I muttered drily, snatching my book back. "They're all the same anyway…"

"But Misa wants to go to the _best _school! And Misa's Nee-chan is smart, yes? So she can look at these brochures and tell Daddy which one is the best!"

Seriously, this was a prime example of why kindergarten had done me more harm than good. I'd tried dumbing myself down, but there was only so much I could do. Ultimately, the title of 'child-genius' had been added to my name, filtering down to my parents and my sister too. And now, they all had these _expectations_. My left eye twitched irritably at the very thought.

The only good part of the whole scenario was that it had lifted Takeshi from my back. I guess he thought that a prodigy had no need to be a Yamato Nadeshiko or something inane like that.

"Seriously Misa…" I began, trying my hardest to not roll my eyes at her. Now that we were slightly older, she felt really insulted by the gesture and flopped away more often than not, blonde hair bouncing freely behind her.

"How does it matter which school you go to?" A voice interrupted us, and over Misa's shoulder, I saw Misaki sauntering in, a sneer on her face. "You're both going to fail at life anyway!"

Misa squealed in indignation, rising to her tiny feet. "You're always so mean to us, Onee-chan!"

"With good reason!" Misaki shot back, crossing her arms. "_The perfect little twins~._ Wait till the world realizes how stupid the two of you are!"

"Misa and Sayuli are _not _stupid! You take that back!"

Misaki's sneer grew even more pronounced. "_Make me_, little imouto~."

Misa's eyes widened, briefly, before narrowing. I could only watch in awe as my sister sauntered forward, hands fisted tightly before kicking Misaki's shin. _Hard_.

It must've been a good hit, or Misaki was just as weak as her sickly skin indicated, because she immediately clutched her leg and began yowling. The next instant, Mom came running into the room and Misaki _tearfully _began explaining what a little psycho Misa had been. (Her words, not mine.)

Wait. Tearfully?

In the meantime, Misa had began crying loudly too, screaming how mean her onee-chan was to her. Mom looked torn only for a brief second, before picking Misa up. At that, Misaki's eyes narrowed vindictively. "They're always right, aren't they? Your perfect little twins! Your little fucking _angels_!"

Honoka flinched, as if slapped.

"I was never enough for you!" Misaki continued, screaming the words out as if they were simply waiting to be torn from her throat. "You wanted your perfect little babies, and once they were here, I was completely forgotten! You even had to name her like me, as if Misaki _wasn't _enough… So you wanted a Misa! You…. _You're such a little bitch, Honoka_!"

Misa flinched at the swear word, while Honoka looked as if she would burst into tears any at any moment. Without waiting for a reply, Misaki strode out of the room, slamming the door shut and screaming about how she _never _wanted to come back.

Wow, I thought lightly, still holding my book, my family sure was dramatic.

Although, it made sense, of sorts. Misaki had always been mean to us. I'd attributed it to the fact that she was older, and felt as if attention was slipping from her, but what if it was because Honoka was never satisfied with her? Staying in the house, I'd realized earlier on that Misaki wasn't very exceptional. Unlike our bright blonde hair, she was gifted with dark black tresses that curled more often than not. Instead of giving her an innocent look, her eyes always made her look sickly, as if she was constantly diseased. She wasn't very bright either, if we were to go by her scores. In fact, she was attending a mediocre Uni somewhere near Osaka itself.

Also, if Honoka was already at Uni now, and we were barely even touching six, then that meant…. Honoka probably had her when she was a teen. My eyes widened as I recalled Mum's brown hair and Dad's blonde ones.

She had Misaki with… _another man_?

In the silence that followed, Misa sniffed briefly, before turning to look at Honoka with wide eyes. "Okaa-san, why does Misaki-chan hate us?"

Mum's eyes clouded slightly, before she sighed, placing Misa back on the floor. "She doesn't hate you, Misa-chan."

"No, no," Misa argued, shaking her head, "She keeps saying we're useless! She calls Sayuli mean names and makes fun of Misa's hair!"

Honoka looked troubled. Very troubled. I was almost tempted to help her out, but there was _nothing _I could even try to say in the situation. Besides, I was too busy reeling with shock at my deduction anyway. Misa trusted me, but this was something she had to hear from her mother.

"Misa…" Honoka finally began, kneeling to place her hands on her shoulders, "Remember this. You'll dislike a lot of people too, when you grow up. You will want to call them mean names and pull their hair and be rude to them." Her eyes flickered towards me. "You too, Sayuri. But every time you feel that way, I want you to remember that _you must keep up appearances_. Making someone hate you isn't the solution. Sometimes, smiling goes a long way, okay?"

As Misa nodded, hesitantly, I thought back on Takeshi-sensei and his insistence I smile more. I remembered the way his eyes would sparkle when he spoke about the Perfect Japanese Woman. I compared it to Mum's words, and I realized that perhaps I'd been looking at it the _wrong _way.

Because Mum was right. There was no point making enemies as you went. Sometimes… It was better to just smile through it.

I don't know what went through my sister's brain as she heard all this, but she displayed an astonishing amount of maturity by smiling weakly and dropping the topic. As Honoka kissed our foreheads to say goodnight, I also considered that in a way, it was fucked up advice. Honoka was basically telling us to _bullshit _our way through people.

But it was a fucked up world. And like it or not, it was about to get even _worse_.

Anyway, a fat hypocrite I'd be if I disagreed with her on this.

I'd only been bullshitting since… say… the day I was _born_?

**{X}**

**A/N: I wouldn't endorse Sayuri's views to anyone, btw. It's supposed to be more to give people an idea of her character than to be truthful. Like it or not, she can be a bit of a bitch. **

**Also! Reviewers, followers, favorite-rs. You guys are the best!**

**Teaser for the next chapter:**

_I rose to my feet and my hands formed fists without me even thinking about it. There was no time for words as I moved, intent on pummeling the little brat to the floor (howdarehehitmysister!) when - _

_\- A soft hand grabbed my wrist._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the extra alert - I'm just shifting a few things around. Nothing major.

Expect the next chapter by the end of this week (hopefully)

**{X}**

"Daddy, please!" Misa begged, wrapping herself around Sousuke's left pant leg. She barely even reached his knee, and for that alone, the sight was hilarious From her vantage point away from Dad's eyes, she glared at me until I half-heartedly threw myself at him too. Satisfied, she continued.

"Misa wants to go to the playground! _All _of Misa's friends will be there!"

A big fat lie. Little sister was simply demanding some action, that's all. But she usually helped me when I wanted more books, so I was forced to help.

"It's a little late to be going to the park, children," Sousuke said, trying to push me and Misa away because we weren't even letting him walk. After a while, he simply shrugged and began walking anyway, while we stuck like limpets to his pants.

"It isn't that late, you know…" I mumbled into his pants, noting the way he twitched. Both our parents had heartily rued the day we'd learnt how to read the time.

"Yeah! And you _never _take us to the park!"

Sousuke helplessly met Honoka's eyes, wordlessly begging for intervention. But Mum only smiled briefly. "You've been putting it off for a long time now. Don't blame me if the twins finally decided to corner you."

"..._Traitor_," Dad grumbled, before bending to lift us both up. We squealed slightly, before yelling in triumph when he said, "Fine, fine, we'll go, you little demons."

"Yay! Daddy is the best!"

"But on one condition." When we fell silent, Dad nodded sternly. "You'll have to behave yourself, okay? No running off without telling me. And absolutely no -,"

"Accepting candy from strangers," I finished for him, adding a sunny smile at the end. "We _know_, Daddy."

"Ah, you think you know a lot of things, my little prodigy," Dad said, finally setting us down. Then he flicked his fingers over my forehead. As I _ouch-ed _in slight surprise, his smile widened. "But Daddy _always _knows more."

I only _just _managed to not roll my eyes, knowing he'd probably get into his lecturing mood if I did. They sure took manners very seriously here.

In the end, the park was nothing spectacular anyway. Even Misa looked slightly disappointed - though I figured it was more because there were lesser kids due to the late time. Still, she pulled me towards the swings, jumping eagerly to get in line behind a tall boy with spectacles. The boy had this haughty air around him - as if the world wasn't good enough or something. I eyed him casually, afraid of trouble, having seen more than enough of his type before.

"Sayuli, do you want to play tag instead?" Misa whined after a moment, shuffling in boredom as the kid in front of us simply wasn't moving.

Also, my sister had a short attention span.

"We've waited for so long. We might as well wait a little more," I said, ignoring her huff. Then the the guy started climbing up and I grinned in triumph. "See? I was right."

"Nee-chan isn't _always _right."

"You'd be surprised."

"Eh?" She said smartly, before turning around. "Oh, look, it's our turn!"

I climbed up after her, twisting to the right to avoid her flailing legs as she missed a rung. Once inside the small tower, she clapped her hands in glee. "Oh, we're here! Let's go on the slide first!"

We moved towards it with me in lead. My cutesy pink skirt bounced alongside me as I knelt to grab the supports, when the same guy we'd seen the line suddenly pressed against my shoulder, pushing me to the side.

Stunned for a moment, I landed on my ass.

"Hey! What did you do that for, you meanie?!" Misa screeched at the guy, hands on her lips. When the boy merely rolled his eyes from behind his specs, she frowned deeply, eyes narrowing. I recognized that look. She was about to do something stupid.

Then before I could knock some sense into her, she surged forward to kick his shin.

"_Ouch_! You little _bitch_!" Unlike Misaki, this one didn't take the hit lying down. Instead, he punched her face, and as I saw my sister fall to the side, tears marring her pretty face, something _snapped _in me.

I rose to my feet even as my hands formed fists of their own accord. There was no time for words as I _moved, _intent on pummelling the little brat to the floor (_howdarehehitmysister!_) when -

\- A soft hand grabbed my wrist.

I couldn't see the newcomer. His back was to me. He was wearing a standard black button down shirt, slightly more formal than the boys our age usually wore. From behind, I could see his hair was a pretty brown, the kind Honoka often thought of dyeing hers into.

"Akihiko." He said, his voice stern. "Do you want me to tell your parents about this incident too? I thought the last time would be enough."

Something vaguely rebellious flashed behind Akihiko's specs, as if he considered hitting the new guy too. But then a pained smile crossed his face. It was obviously forced. "Of course not. I'll leave, alright? You keep this to yourself!"

"I'll consider it," The new guy said coldly. Once Akihiko had left, he extended a hand to Misa, who took it, sniffling. As soon as she was up, I snapped into action, rushing towards her and cupping her cheeks with my hands.

"Are you okay, Misa? Does it hurt anywhere? Do you want to go the doctor?"

"Misa is fine, Sayuli_!_ Misa isn't as badly hurt…" My sister said, before her shining eyes moved over my shoulder to the guy still standing behind us. "Because this Mister saved Misa!"

I winced briefly, recognizing the look in her eyes. I'd seen it before, whenever she watched TV with us. It was pure _hero worship._

"Thank you for saving Misa!" My sister chirped, shrugging my hands off to go running forward to bow to the guy. "I'm Amane Misa! And this is my twin, Amane Sayuri!"

I turned around slowly. There was suddenly this churning, almost _foreboding _feeling in my gut. It was completely unwarranted, and its presence was _worrying_. The kind of person I was, I relied greatly on my intuition, so that meant something was wrong. Something was… happening.

Misa was still staring at the guy, her hands clasped to her chest. The shining adoration in her blue eyes was obvious.

The guy, on the other hand… He looked to be around our age, perhaps a year lesser. Cool, absolutely _jaw-dropping-beautiful _brown eyes took in my rapidly whitening face. His face was perfectly blank, not an emotion in sight. As my hands fluttered to grip my skirt tightly and all the color went knocking out of my face, he nodded, briefly, before turning back to look at Misa.

"Pleased to meet you, Misa-san." His voice was cultured. "I'm _Yagami Light_."

His pretty eyes flickered to meet mine almost calculatingly.

"And _you're _welcome."

**{X}**


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